Catherine Stewart Tauranga City Councillor

I recently attended a National Volunteers Week Thank You morning organised by Volunteer Western Bay of Plenty.

Volunteer Western Bay of Plenty manager Theo Ursum said there are about 1 million volunteers around New Zealand who put in about 270 million hours per annum. Most volunteers are between 30-39 years old.

We have some hard-working volunteers who give up their time freely to assist in many different ways in our community – a big thank you to you all.

The lady I was sitting next to volunteered her time at The Elms, St Vincent de Paul Society and Budget Advisory Service.

Another volunteer I know drives from Katikati twice a week to assist at the Waipuna Hospice second-hand shop.

A small group of volunteers, Brian, Chris, Murray, Pat and Colin, regularly meet at the Historic Village and carry out work to enhance the grounds and small projects – thank you for all you do.

Community Development meetings are to have a ‘face-lift' to raise the profile of the meetings and make them more user-friendly for the community.

During the last year the number of presenters, elected members and staff have sometimes outnumbered the community present.

If you want elected members to continue with evening community meetings please attend the ones advertised on the council website, or let us know what we can do to improve the current format.

You can leave a voice message to all elected members on phone 07 985 6171 or email electedmembers@tauranga.govt.nz